National Press Features The Jackhammer Elegies

In The Zweig Letter, a leading newsletter for consulting engineers, Mark Zweig, chairman and CEO of ZweigWhite, wrote:

"I'll start by telling you it's a great read.... If you like seeing a successful, smart engineer as the main character (I know I do!) this book is for you.”

"The Jackhammer Elegies combines elements from Robert Ludlum and John Grisham with a strong dose of the engineer as hero. Buy the book."

"All of Jaeger's characters are fully developed human beings that could be people you and I know.... What I most enjoyed about Jaeger's writing is his lack of overly detailed, tedious descriptions of everything."

"I'm frankly jealous of what he's created here...[he] did a beautiful job."

In Prism, the magazine of the American Society for Engineering Education, Henry Petroski, acclaimed author and professor of civil engineering and history at Duke University, wrote:

"Engineering and fiction seem polar opposites, but several recently published novels may encourage the reading and writing of more tales about engineers--and perhaps generate wider appreciation of their work."

"In The Jackhammer Elegies...Jaeger’s eye for technical detail and flair for character development, narrative, and plot make his thriller not only a page-turner but also credible."

Engineering's Jack Bauer?

PE magazine, the flagship publication of the National Society of Professional Engineers, wrote:

"In The Jackhammer Elegies...civil and structural engineer Scott Carter lives a life that many NSPE members know well: helping middle school students train for MATHCOUNTS competitions, progressing in one's career from design to management, participating in continuing education seminars, and volunteering for Engineers Week.... [then] Carter's normal life is disrupted by a terrorist bent on...causing all kinds of infrastructure havoc."

Finally a Civil Engineering Hero!

In his American Society of Civil Engineers blog "Bridging the Gap," Ken Maschke wrote:

"The Jackhammer Elegies is a fun, fast-paced read. Civil engineers will appreciate the concerted effort to speak their language. The general public may be impressed with role civil engineers play in keeping the engine of infrastructure running."

"Jaeger uses his familiarity with civil engineering...to craft a story with the little nuances that will make real civil engineers nod with understanding. It’s also fun to imagine a fellow engineer as a Jack Bauer-like hero — thwarting terrorists, joining an FBI investigation, and pursuing the girl."

"When’s the last time you saw a TV show about civil engineers? Or a movie in which an electrical engineer saves the world? Maybe never? Engineers, unfortunately, are not your typical heroes or protagonists in popular culture. But that doesn’t make them any less interesting than the doctors or lawyers who are often portrayed in prime time TV or in John Grisham novels.

"And while not the sole motivation for writing his latest novel, The Jackhammer Elegies, promoting an often-ignored industry did not skip writer and association executive Stefan Jaeger’s mind either."

Putting the Engineer Into Popular EntertainmentAn Award-Winning Thriller Makes a P.E. the Hero, Highlights Leadership

The summer 2014 issue of The Bent, the magazine of the national engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi, published an article by The Jackhammer Elegies author Stefan Jaeger on engineers’ depiction in movies, TV, and fiction. Jaeger described his own journey into creating a thriller that gives a back seat to the usual doctor, lawyer, and detective protagonists and puts an engineer leader on center stage.